I hurried back to Adam’s father, fell to my knees, and pressed a sock against the wound, hard enough to enter the bullet hole. The silver wolf whimpered, and I stroked his head gently, hoping it might calm him.
“I’m sorry it hurts. I’m trying to stop the bleeding. Just rest now.”
But instead of resting the wolf started to pant. Hard. His muscles tensed and trembled under my fingertips.
“What’s happening?” I looked over my shoulder, but the big black wolf with the silver bullet around his neck was gone. “Adam?” I called out. “Where are you?”
The hollow sound of joints snapping and popping drew my attention back to the injured wolf. His large body convulsed, and I suddenly realized what was happening.
“You’re shifting.” My eyes welled with tears. “No.” I shook my head. “No, you can’t waste the energy.”
I had no idea if he could understand me. But he was mutating back into a man whether I wanted him to or not. Maybe that’s what happened when they were injured or…dying.
As his fur vanished, leaving smooth tanned skin behind, I saw the exit wound of the bullet through his back. The hole was larger than I’d expected and glistened with fresh blood. I folded the other sock and bent over him to press it against the exit wound. The change was nearly finished, and the man moaned, wincing as I applied pressure.
“We need to get you to a hospital.” My heart was racing. There was too much blood.
“Jason, go change. Now.” The sound of Adam’s voice startled me.
I spun around to find him standing right behind me. He was naked in the moonlight, his jaw set, his eyes determined. One of the tan wolves with orange eyes—Jason, I assumed—raced off into the trees.
“You’re a man again. How?” Forming full sentences felt like performing high level math. “The moon is still full. I…”
Adam answered in spite of my inability to verbalize. “Yeah. It hurts like hell, but we can shift back by force.” Moonlight glistened in the sweat all over his face and chest. “Takes a lot to control the wolf during a full moon, but we can if we have to.”
He knelt beside me, and I met his eyes. “He’s losing too much blood.”
Adam took his father’s hand. “Stay with me, Dad. Jason will be here in a minute. We’ll get you all fixed up.”
The older man’s lashes fluttered and finally opened. There was no denying the resemblance.
“Introduce me,” he whispered. “I want to meet your…mate.”
For a moment Adam’s expression softened. He took my hand, laced his fingers with mine. “This is Lana.” His voice trembled when he looked at me. I could see his pain and his fear for his father, but he cleared his throat and pushed his emotions back when he looked back down at him. “Lana, this is Malcolm, my father and my Alpha.”
My eyes brimmed with tears as Malcolm placed his palm over our joined hands. His mouth curved into a warm smile and his eyes moved between our faces. “Welcome to the Pack, Lana…” His breath wheezed. He winced, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze locked on mine. “I accept you as my son’s mate.”
Adam’s eyes shone in the moonlight, his jaw slack. “But you told me—”
“I was a fool.” He fought to swallow and catch his breath. He glanced at me, and I swore his green eyes sparkled. He stared up at his son. “She’s pregnant, Adam. You didn’t tell me.”
Shock and disbelief shot through me. “You told me you have to bite a woman and convert her before you can have a baby.”
Adam nodded and looked back down at his father. “It’s impossible. I didn’t bite her, Dad.”
He coughed and moaned. “I don’t know how, but she is. Concentrate on her scent.” He pulled in another shallow breath through his nose. “Beyond the jaguar. There’s more. There’s almost your scent mixed with hers.” He nodded to himself. “She’s definitely carrying your child.”
I’m sure my face must’ve looked as shocked as I felt on the inside, my heart racing out of control. I was about to tell them I felt fine—I was pretty sure I’d know if I was pregnant. I wasn’t sick or tired. But before I could say anything, another naked man rushed to kneel beside Malcolm.
He glanced over at me. “Can you give me some room?”
I nodded and got up. Until then I hadn’t even noticed that Malcolm was nude too, but none of it mattered.
Adam watched the man’s every move. He carefully lifted the sock I’d been using for a compress and inspected the wound. Malcolm groaned and hissed as his Packmate explored the wound with his finger.
When he leaned back, he replaced the compress. “The bullet grazed your liver. I’m going to need to do surgery right away.”
Malcolm shook his head, his face glistening with sweat. “No. Just patch me up here.”
The doctor looked up at Adam. “He’s bleeding internally. We’ve got to get him to a hospital.”
“Too risky to the Pack,” Malcolm rasped. “The needs of the Pack come first.”
Adam squeezed his father’s shoulder and looked at the doctor. “Jason, talk to him. He has to understand.”
Jason stared at his patient. “I can’t do surgery here even if I wanted to, Malcolm. I don’t have any of my equipment and not enough light. I can fix this, and you’ll be fine. We just need a hospital.”
Adam got up, his jaw tight and eyes stern. I noticed the black wolf with the injured leg was limping back to the Pack. Aren whimpered and nuzzled his father, nudging his shoulder with his long snout. I looked back at the trees and wondered if Sasha was still alive out there or if the wolf had remembered she was the one who shot him and took his revenge while she was tranquilized.
I reminded myself again that she had been about to trade me to Nero like a prize cow. She was also planning on shooting Adam.
Adam stared into each wolf’s eyes as they gathered closer around and spoke slowly. “The run is over. Malcolm needs a hospital. Go shift and meet back at the ranch.”
He turned around and knelt down beside Jason. “Let’s get him to the truck.”
“No!” Malcolm bellowed. It was most definitely a command.
The wolves halted and returned to their fallen Alpha.
With my enhanced night vision, I could see the pain in Malcolm’s eyes. He held his hand up to Adam. “Sit me up, boy. I need to say something to my Pack.”
“You need a hospital.”
Malcolm’s silver brow furrowed. “Do as I say, Adam.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Adam
I shot a glare at Jason. Why wasn’t he backing me up? I sighed when he looked away, attending to Malcolm’s exit wound. I was on my own. I turned to my father. I knew it would dishonor him to disobey his wishes in front of the entire Pack, but I couldn’t let him die.
As if he could hear my thoughts, he whispered. “Let me go, son. My life has been full. Let the Pack remember me the way I choose, giving my life under the full moon to save my grandchildren. Please, Adam.”
I gnawed at the inside of my cheek, fighting to keep from scooping him up off the ground and running him to the hospital on foot. “Dad, please don’t do this. You don’t have to die. Not now.”
He moved his head, trying to see past me. “Where is your mate?”
Lana knelt down beside me. “I’m here.”
Malcolm took her hand. While the Pack watched, he brought my hand to hers and joined them together. I could feel tremors racing through my father’s fingers when he covered our hands in his. Then he looked over at the Pack.
“Lana is now Adam’s mate. She is a member of our Pack. Together we are family. In her womb is our future. Protect her.” He closed his eyes tight and his hands slid free of ours.
“No,” I growled, as I pulled his broad shoulders onto my lap. Shoulders that used to carry me when my Mom was still alive. “We need you. You have to fight.”